


Will Things Be Better

by Macas64



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Angst, Before HoO, Fluff, M/M, Past Annabeth/Percy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-29
Updated: 2013-08-07
Packaged: 2017-12-21 18:25:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,858
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/903433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macas64/pseuds/Macas64
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Now that the war has ended, Percy finds himself drifting away from his friends. Annabeth and he had broken up through mutual agreement and Percy is left feeling hollow. He often spends his time at the beach, just staring out at the ocean thinking about everything that has happened. One day, there is a specific demigod on his mind but he knows things will never be.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The beach was always a nice place to just sit, relax and think about things. Good things, bad things, happy things, not so happy things, but things just the same. A lot has happened in such a short time that any normal person would have overloaded by now. The dark haired, green eyed boy began reflecting on the past few years as he stared out at the ocean; Apollo's chariot was setting below the ebbing flow of water. It was crazy to think that just six years ago, Percy thought that the sun was a flaming ball of gas, millions of miles out into space. He knew better now. Up until that point when he was attacked by his crazy maths teacher, he thought he was just a normal kid. A troubled kid, mind, but still just a kid. Then his mother disappeared before his eyes and that was when his life turned into a roller-coaster. There were the ups when Percy made friends for once in his life. He found out he had a family he could depend on, and he went on all these great adventures with said friends and family. Then there were the downs like the fact that he could no longer live a normal life. He always had to be on the watch for the monsters. Then there were the deaths of his friends. Percy knew that not all of them were his fault but he couldn't help thinking that he could have done more. Beckendorf...Silena...Michael Yew...they all perished in the second Olympian War. Percy knew he was being stupid, bringing all of this back up, but he couldn't help it. Ever since the end of the war everyone seemed to have found their calling. Sure, he was Hero of Olympus, but that was a one time thing. Now that there was peace, well, what was there for Percy to do? His friends had slowly been drifting away from him, yet he understands that they were getting on with their lives.

Grover was really busy these days now that he was Lord of the Wild. He made it his duty to spread the word that Pan had died so that those with false hopes would come to realise that nothing would ever come about unless they took action themselves. Nymphs and Satyrs have slowly been trying to clean up the mess that humans have created. Wood nymphs have be subtly accelerating the growth of tree saplings to improve the ecosystem in their areas while naiads have been doing their best to reduce the pollution in rivers and lakes. Grover had also sent out the satyrs all over the place to gather information on which areas needed the most work. Naturally, this kept Grover really busy and he barely had time to speak with Percy much these days. Grover had to break the empathy link due to...private matters on his part. The corners of Percy's mouth lifted slightly at the memory of that explanation. Juniper had been with Grover at the time and her face was flushed such a deep green that Percy immediately understood why Grover had to break it. Percy didn't fault Grover for being too busy, in fact he was happy for him. Grover used to be so timid that nobody would have guessed he would turn out into this. Or maybe Nobody did guess but no one paid attention to him. Either way, Percy understood why his best friend didn't have much time for him anymore.

Nico, on the other hand, spent most of his time down in the underworld despite now having a cabin within the camp. Ever since Percy made the Gods promise to claim all their children before the age of thirteen, a lot more campers have been showing up. Many of them were sons and daughters of minor gods, the majority of which would not have attracted many monsters to them. However, since everyone had to be claimed, they had to be taken to camp as well. This led to an influx of new cabins such as Hypnos, Iris, and Hades. However, Nico was loathe to stay in the Hades cabin for longer than a month. He had no intention of becoming a year rounder at camp and he was happy being able to roam around freely. Besides, Hades usually had a job for him to do. Percy never knew what those jobs were but the one time he had asked, Nico had given him a grin that chilled him to the bone so he learnt never to ask again. Nico still stayed the whole of summer though so Percy at least got to see his cousin then.

His other cousin, Thalia, was still the Lieutenant of Lady Artemis and so Percy didn't see much of her. The Hunters occasionally stopped by at Camp Half-blood every couple of months now that relations between the two groups have become better. Thanks to Thalia's influence, the hunters no longer hated boys quite as much as they used to, yet they were hostile to any that made the slightest of advances towards them but that was understandable. Besides, the idiot that thought they could 'woo' a hunter deserved an arrow in undesirable places. Or at least that's what Thalia said. Percy felt a bit of sympathy towards whoever was unfortunate enough to rile the hunters. Thalia and Percy remained good friends, however, and they knew that would last, even if they only saw each other occasionally.

Then there was Rachel. Rachel had gotten sick of her father trying to control every little aspect of her life. She was moderately happy at Clarion Ladies Academy and after a semester, she found that it wasn't nearly as bad as what she was expecting. Percy still found it ironic that the girl that had painted herself gold and pretended to be a statue was at a finishing school for society girls and pretty much anyone who knew Rachel agreed with him. However, after a semester, her dad wasn't happy with her as every few weeks, Rachel would go down to Camp Half-blood, with or without her father's permission. Rachel's dad never knew where she went but he had had enough of it. One day he told her that they were moving to Britain for a 'business opportunity' that had conveniently risen for their family. Rachel flat out refused. As Oracle of Delphi, she had a duty to to the camp, not to mention she had all her friends here. Unfortunately, he father knew nothing about that so she had no argument against his decision. Her father just told her to pack her bags and that they were leaving the next day as everything had already been sorted. Eventually she just stormed up to her room and threw anything that was worth something to her into a small suitcase. That same night, she snuck out and made her way to camp. She knew some people who wouldn't tell her dad where she was and had them giver her a lift, as well as give her father false trials as to where she went. Rachel now lived in the Big House as full time Oracle for the camp. She was the only one who still managed to see Percy on a day to day basis.

Finally there was Annabeth. Their relationship had started off great, as you would expect from two people who had been dancing around each other for five years. However it just wasn't meant to be. Percy wanted to blame Aphrodite because he knew that she had wanted to make Percy's love life difficult, but the rational part of his brain that spoke up occasionally said otherwise. Despite their obvious attraction to each other, the fact the Annabeth was head Architect for the rebuilding of Olympus put a major strain on their relationship. Percy was in his sophomore year at Goode High School so he wasn't really bothered that Annabeth was always busy since he had a lot of work to do. They got together as often as they could but those times grew few and far between to the point where the time they had was never enough. Annabeth had started to drift further and further away from him to the point where they knew it wasn't going to work out. It had been a mutual breakup so there were no hard feelings between the two; they were still best friends and there was nothing awkward between the two. After the breakup, Percy thought that he would be depressed. He was all set on knocking down Rachel's door at the Big House in the middle of the night to cry his heart out in the most manly way possible but it never happened. Percy didn't feel sad, he just felt empty. That added to the little contact between most of his closest friends left Percy feeling hollow. He put up a smile when he was interacting with the other campers, showing them a sword technique or another. He put the effort in in capture the flag so that no one would notice that something was missing in the Son of Poseidon but there were some days, like today, where Percy had to look at everything that's happened and just sort himself out.

It was just one of those days where you think back on your life and wonder, 'what if?'. What if he had stayed with Calypso on Ogygia? What if Percy had decided not to take a dip in the Styx? What if he never managed to convince his father to help with the battle against Typhon? What if he never gave the dagger to Lu-he stopped that train of thought. There were a lot of 'what ifs' and hypothetical mumbo jumbo in Percy's head about a certain blonde haired demigod. Luke had sacrificed himself to save Olympus and the Gods, despite the fact that he hated them for what happened to him in his life. He hated them for his disturbed mother, for his neglected childhood, for the overcrowding at the Hermes cabin. He hated them for a lot of things. What if May Castellan had never tried to become the Oracle, would any of this have happened? What Rachel said was right. Int he end, he had not been the true hero, but Luke. Te blonde, battle scarred boy had saved everyone from annihilation by the Titans, and yet no one thought twice about that. They all thought it was Percy's doing, and that doesn't sit well with him. Percy's mood darkened at the though. He had never really gotten to know Luke. He had only stayed at the Hermes cabin for a week, and although Luke was the only one who would spar with him, not many words were said. The only real conversation he had had with the older boy was that first night he had spent in cabin eleven and even then, the son of Hermes had been guarded. The only good thing he could say about the guy was that he was the first person to welcome him to Camp Half-blood. On that first day, he was the only one to show Percy and kindness, even if it was by stealing a couple of toiletries for him. Luke couldn't have been all bad. There was something about the older demigod that Percy found intriguing. Percy couldn't put a finger on it, and he'll never be able to find out now.

Percy fell asleep where he was sitting. It had been a long, hot, summers day which made everyone feel tired and lethargic. Percy had spent most of it in the lake, creating waves for the campers to have fun in. The use of his powers added to the curse of Achilles meant that Percy would be passed out for a while. The last things he noticed before his eyes shut against his will was the sound of the waves crashing and the smell of the ocean. He dreamed of Luke- him and Luke sparring for the first time and Percy managing to disarm him successfully. Luke giving him the winged shoes and feeling gratitude towards the older camper. Luke siccing the pit scorpion on him and feeling more than just betrayal. Luke aboard the Princess Andromeda before his eyes had turned golden. The memories carried on and on until the sound of wings and a light thud woke him up. Being a demigod, even the smallest of disturbances could wake him from the deepest of sleep. It was necessary if you didn't want to be killed. Percy felt someone shaking him and if he wasn't so tired then he would have probably jumped up by now with his sword out. However, the curse of Achilles took a massive tole on the body and the best Percy could do was give a small groan. As a wise man once said, 'with great power comes great need to take a nap'. The soft flutter of wings folding up and being tucked away into a pair of shoes was all Percy's groggy eyes could see. He had turned onto his side while he was sleeping be he could still see Artemis high in the sky which meant he had been asleep for a while now. His eyes stayed open for a few more seconds before it became too much and he drifted off into unconsciousness again. The person tried everything he could to was the demigod up but nothing worked. He had wanted to talk to Percy as soon as he got there but the sight of the boy staring out at the ocean and looking so...lost made him stop. He had watched for a while before deciding to leave the younger lad to it. He didn't expect to find him asleep on the beach several hours later but his gut told him to check it out just in case. Luckily he found him before the harpies did. He contemplated just dumping him in the ocean to wake him up but he felt that would be harsh so he picked the sleeping boy up into his arms and began to make his way to Poseidon's cabin. Percy instinctively wrapped his arms around his carrier's neck, making it easier for him to be supported. Luckily, everyone was fast asleep so no one would think that the man was kidnapping the hero of Olympus. Even the harpies weren't around. There wasn't much he could do and he couldn't leave Percy out at the beach all night. Slowly, he made his way to cabin three and thanks to his adept skills in thievery, managed to get the door open. Inside the cabin, there was only one bed that looked like it had been slept in recently so he gently lowered the black haired demigod into it and let go of the sleeping boy. However, Percy's arms were still locked around his neck.

He started panicking. He didn't want to wake the other boy but there was nothing he could do that would let him get out of this without doing so. There was nothing else for it, he laid down next to Percy and hoped that no one would walk in on them in the morning. Everyone would freak if the saw him with the demigod. At least this way, there was no way that he could run away from talking with Percy since the boys arms were wrapped tightly around him. He watched the boy sleep as he cautiously made himself comfortable in the small bunk bed, curling himself around the sleeping demigod. Thankfully, he was only wearing a T-shirt and sweats so it wasn't going to be an uncomfortable night.

The last thing Luke thought before he too drifted off to sleep was, 'Crap, Percy is gonna kill me when he wakes up tomorrow.'


	2. Chapter 2

When Luke had entered through the doors of DOA recording studios, his hopes weren't very high. Charon gave him one look and told him to get in the elevator. He shooed everyone else out, leaving Luke alone as the elevator made its steady descent down into the underworld. Charon's ferry came into being once the elevator hit the river Styx, ploughing through the murky waters. Luke shivered as he remembered the pain he had to endure when he had to bathe in the Styx. It was excruciating, but he wasn't sure if it was the worse pain he's ever experienced. Over in the distance, Luke could see the huge black archway that rose above the toll booths into the fields. Even from where he was sat on the ferry, Luke could see the massive lines of dead spirits in front of the toll booths, waiting for judgement so that they may finally enter one of the fields. There was even a short line at the EZ DEATH booth.

'That's what you helped to accomplish mate,' Charon said, him empty eye sockets following Luke's stare. 'Even the EZ DEATH line is slightly backed up, thanks to Typhon's rampage across America. Is that what you wanted lad?'

Luke didn't answer. He didn't have anything to say that could have been a good enough justification for what's happened. What were his reasons? That his mother mother had traumatised him as a child? That he had to fight for his life for years? The fact that Hermes, his father, was the root of all of his problems? In his mind, everything made perfect sense, or at least, it did. His resolve had never wavered, not when it came to poisoning Thalia's tree, nor when it came to using Annabeth as bait for Artemis. The Gods had made his life miserable since day one and the quest they had sent him on to retrieve a golden apple from the Garden of Hespirides just helped to make him even more bitter. Luke knew his reasons, he knew why he did what he did but now, after that last battle with Pe-

The boat thudded onto the black sand at the bank of the river Styx, jarring Luke from his thoughts. He made to get out of the boat but was stopped by a bony hand on his shoulder. He looked around and Charon was staring directly at him, his mouth wide open in a maniacal grin. He reached into his hooded robe and passed Luke a small laminated card that said ASAP on it.

'Think of it as one of those fast track things at that place that children like to go to, what was it called, Dipsyland? Ah whatever, you wouldn't believe how many kids come here whining about never being able to go there again. Anyway, the king of the Underworld himself gave me that kid, 'specially for you. You get to bypass all those stupid mortals waiting in line and get straight to the booth, isn't that great? Now get on moving, not everyone has the rest of eternity, time is money you know. Speaking of which, if you ever see that Jackson kid again tell him cheers for the pay rise yeah? Good good, now off you go,' and with that, the ferry started it's way back across the Styx.

Luke stared down at the little plastic card in his hand, dread washing over him. There was only one reason why Hades would want him to skip the line, and that's to start his punishment as soon as possible. He slowly made his way towards what he was certain was eternal damnation. The souls of the departed looked up as he passed by and there were quiet murmurs amongst the spirits. Luke's gut twisted in apprehension as the toll booths came closer and closer. He could see the three judges, King Minos, Thomas Jefferson and William Shakespeare. He took a deep breath and steeled himself for what was about to come; he could take what they were going to give him. It couldn't possibly as bad as what Kronos had put him through when he failed in his missions. At last, he stepped up in front of Jefferson and showed him the card. The judges all shared a glance at each other before declaring unanimously, 'Elysium,' although Minos did so grudgingly. Luke just stared at them, wondering if he had heard them wrong. Jefferson just looked at him and smiled.

'Dreams of the future are better than the history of the past boy, don't forget that, now go on, Elysium's waiting for you.

\-----------------------------

It had been a year since Luke took his first steps into the fields of Elysium and he still couldn't believe that he was there. His most optimistic thought was that he might just be able to make it into the fields of Asphodel. It didn't register that he was actually going into Elysium until he had stepped through the security gate and was met with the beauty that was the fields of Elysium. Ever since that first day, Luke had spent most of his time skirting around the edges of the fields, keeping away from anyone who might recognise him. Heroes tended to make it into Elysium more often than not because their deaths were usually to do with monster attacks, which in turn was because of their godly heritage. What better way to say sorry than to allow their kids to spend the rest of eternity happy? As a result, Luke knew that there would be a lot of people that would resent him and he didn't want to have any confrontations with anyone. Luke also spent a lot of his time at his house, just watching what was on Hephaestus Tv or playing on one of the games consoles that were provided. It was a surprise that the Underworld kept up with modern technology.

It was one of those days where he was feeling restless so he decided to go out for a walk. He opened his front door and stepped out, looking around for anyone that might see him. What he saw instead made him tense, both in shock and horror. He was standing in the kitchen of his mum's house, the same house he had ran away from at the age of nine. What was worse was the figure bustling around the kitchen, moving from the counter to the oven. The figure turned around and Luke saw his mother for the first time since he had to ask her for her blessing. May Castellan saw her son and a mile immediately broke out on her face.

'Luke!' she cried happily and launched herself at him, engulfing him in a massive hug. Luke stiffened further at the contact but didn't push her away.

This can't be real. This can't be real. This is what my fate really is. To spend the rest of eternity in the one place I wanted to get away from. Elysium was just to tease me, just to punish me further wen everything was taken away again.

'I have your lunch ready for you in the kitchen! Come,' May said, dragging him over to the table and sitting him down. In front of him, stacked on the wooden surface, was hundred of tupperware boxes, each one filled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The ones at the bottom had turned green and fuzzy. Over at the oven was a stack of cookie sheets, each one having a dozen black shapes that could only have been failed attempts at baking. The sink held a mountain of empty plastic kool-aid pitchers that looked about to fall over. Luke looked at everything in horror. He couldn't take it, he had to get out of there. He stood up, the chair toppling over behind him, and ran for the front door. He was out of the house and into the woods before May even realised he was gone. Luke ran for what felt like hours, the only thoughts in his head was, 'Got to get away, this can;t be happening.' Eventually he stopped, exhaustion coming over him. He looked around at his surroundings and he found himself in a small clearing with sunlight streaming down from the canopy. There was a tree stump close by so Luke took a moment to sit and gather his breath. His face dropped into his hands and he tried to figure out what in Hades was going on.

A hand was gently placed on his shoulder and Luke almost jumped out of his skin. He was almost too scared to look up and see who it was but before he could, the person spoke.

'Well then, Luke, what do you intend to do now?' Luke looked up in shock at the sound of his father's face and indeed, Hermes was standing above him, a cautious yet gentle smile on his face. Before he knew what he was doing, Luke had jumped up and had crushed Hermes into a hug. It had been too much. The sight of his old house, his mother, the surfacing of memories he had long since wanted to forget. He burst into tears, sobbing into his father's shoulder, wanting his comfort for the first time since he felt betrayed by the Gods.

'I-I-I'm sorry...I'm sorry dad.' If Luke had been shocked by what had just come out of his mouth, it was nothing to how Hermes felt. The messenger God awkwardly placed is hand onto his son's back and rubbed comforting circles as Luke continued to murmur 'I'm sorrys' into his shoulder.

'Hey, hey, it's okay. It's okay son,' Hermes said, trying to soothe his favourite son. How Hermes wished that it could have always been like this. The war was completely unnecessary and so many people lost their lives, all because the Gods neglected their children. 'I'm surprised Luke,' Hermes continued, 'I was expecting a punch to the face, at the very least.' Luke gave a watery chuckle but there wasn't enough humour in him to make it last very long.

'No, no, I know it;s not your fault for anything. I needed someone to blame, after mum, and then Thalia, and then that stupid quest and the looks from the other campers. The Gods were just convenient to put the blame on. Please don't make me go back there, I'm sorry.' Luke continued to murmur 'I'm sorrys', the guilt that had been building up inside of him for the past year finally being let out into the open. Hermes just stood there and let his favourite son pour his heart out. Eventually, Luke got a hold of himself and let his father go.

'What's going on?' Luke asked, ' Is this a punishment? Was Elysium just a way to get my hopes up and this is really what Hades has planned for me?' The thought itself was enough to bring tears to Luke's eyes again but he held them back, wanting an answer from the man in front of him. Hermes just watched his son with eyes full of regret.

'It's nothing like that at all my dear!' a voice behind them said, 'In fact, you have me to thank for your...what shall we call it, resurrection? I think that's the word that best fits this situation. Luke turned around and saw one of the most beautiful women standing there, but there was something odd about her. Her looks kept changing, her hair and eyes going different colours. Her hair had gone from black, then to blonde, before finally settling on black again while her eyes changed from electric blue, to stormy grey, before settling on sea green. As far as Luke knew, there was no one in the myths about a woman with these features, so he did the sensible thing.

'Who are you?' he asked. Hermes grinned to himself, the woman was not going to like that, not one bit. He was right, she looked offended that anyone would dare not know who she is.

'I take offence to that, demigod! It is I, Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love,' and to prove her point, she summoned two doves that flew off into the woods. 'Is this how your sons treat those that have just done them a huge favour Hermes?' Hermes just rolled his eyes. All the Olympians definitely has a flair for the dramatics. Luke's eyes widened at his mistake.

'My appologies Lady Aphrodite, it's just that you don't look like how I remember you. Your hair and eyes are a different colour. There was a gleam in Aphrodite's eyes when he said that.

'Oh? And what colour are they, pray tell son of Hermes?' Aphrodite asked.

'Black and green?' Luke answered, his tone questioning. Seriously? he thought, If you're going to change the colour of you hair and eyes, it might be helpful to know what colour you're changing them into. Aphrodite just smiled widely at Hermes, who glared at the Goddess of Love. He still didn't agree with what she was planning, but if it brought Luke back to him, then...

'Ah, I see,' Aphrodite said. 'Now, for as to why you are back, let us just say that Persephone owed me a favour. I had her, ah, persuade, Hades to let you back into the land of the living.'

'Can I ask why?' Luke asked before hastily adding a 'Lady' to the question. He wasn't used to being polite to the Gods but he had to reconcile himself with them somehow. Aphrodite just smilled beautifully at him before flashing out of the woods. Hermes just shook his head at the Goddess. Luke looked up at him, wondering what was going on.

'Do you know what she want fa- dad?'

'That doesn't matter right now Luke, what matters now is what you are going to do now that you're out of the Underworld again.

'What do you mean? What is there for me to do? No one will accept me after what had happened, especially not the rest of your children. I'm surprised that even you are talking to me.' Luke murmured the last part to himself quietly but Hermes still heard him. He looked forlornly at his son.

'You will always be my son Luke, never forget that I never gave up on you,' Hermes said softly. Luke didn't meet his father's eye so Hermes continued. 'As for no one accepting you, I know that there is at least one person at camp that has already forgiven you, and they may be able to help you gain the trust of your fellow demigods once again. Besides, when Hades resurrected you, he resurrected you at the age you were before you left camp, before you stopped living. You're nineteen again Luke, so you know you have to go back.' Luke wasn't fussed about the age thing, if anything, he was glad for it. It would truly mean being able to redo his life.

'Who's that one person that had forgiven me?'

Hermes eyes twinkled before he answered, 'Perseus Jackson, of course.' Luke's insides squirmed at the information and it felt like he was floating on air. Percy, the one person that could make him think about what he was actually doing. The one person who tried to reach out to him, even though he had already sold his sole to the titans. He knew that he liked the boy. He realised it the first day he came to camp. He had liked the boy way more than he should have, especially for what he was planning to do. There was just something about Percy that...attracted his attention. However, he knew nothing would have happened when he lay dying on the floor in the Gods throne room. When Annabeth had looked at Percy with love shining in her eyes. He knew he never had a chance to begin with. Doubts clouded Luke's thoughts as he realised that there was a difference between forgiving what has been done, and accepting the other person again. Percy would never let him close again, not after everything he had done to the poor Son of Poseidon.

'At least talk to him, Luke,' Hermes said, giving his son a soft smile. Luke just nodded. 'Here, take these,' he said, handing Luke a bag containing a couple of sets of clothes, a sheathed celestial bronze dagger, and a pair of shoes. Hermes gave his son one last encouraging nod before teleporting out of there, leaving Luke alone in the clearing. He discarded the shoes he was currently wearing in favour of the ones Hermes gave him, placed the sheath on his belt, and donned the bag on his back.

With a heavy heart, he said, 'Maia!' and activated the flying shoes.


	3. Chapter 3

Percy had always hated dreams. Usually it was because they normally came with bad news; it comes with the whole being a demigod thing. Some of his dreams are terrifying, some are prophetic, while others, well, they are just downright insanity. This, however. This just takes the proverbial cake. As if his day hadn't been bad enough, what with the whole self deprecating internal monologue thing he had going on at the beach, his subconscious wouldn't let him rest either. Percy dreamt that he was sat at a table in a Parisian cafe, overlooking the River Seine. How he knew that was a mystery to him but that wasn't the problem. The problem was the woman sitting in front of him, dressed in a red satin dress with her hair curled to frame her face perfectly. The last time Percy has seen this particular Goddess, she had claimed that he was on a quest to rescue his true love. She wasn't necessarily wrong – at the time – but you could see how well that turned out. As if knowing what Percy was thinking, Aphrodite's expression pinched slightly, yet she had a wide smile on her face that was both alluring and alarming. Percy didn't even want to know what she had planned for him.

'Percy, Percy, Percy,' she tutted, 'Don't look at me like that. I had nothing to do with the breakdown of your relationship with dear Annabeth.' Percy just stared at her for a moment, wondering what on earth he could say to that. Aphrodite took pity on the demigod so she continued, 'Besides, I think you will find, my dear, that there is someone else that is much more worthy of your affections than that child of Athena.' Percy internally groaned. There was no one he knew at the moment who he was even remotely close enough to with whom he could form a relationship with. None of the girls at camp had ever caught his eye, bar Annabeth, and he's pretty sure none of them had ever taken an interest in him. Who could Aphrodite be talking about?

'At the risk of sounding...impertinent, may I ask who you are talking about?' Aphrodite's deep blue eyes just twinkled and she brushed her blonde bangs to the side of her face.

'Remember how I said that it's been ages since we've had a good tragic love story on our hands?' she asked. Percy just looked at her warily and nodded his head. 'Well then, what's more tragic than the love between two people who are separated by death, but are then reunited once again?' Percy's jaw dropped at that. There was only one person that Percy could think off that Aphrodite could be talking about but surely, as the Goddess of Love, she would have known that-

'Are you- are you talking about Silena? Because I'm pretty sure she was with Becken-'

'No, I am not talking about my daughter!' Aphrodite said, waving her hand irritably. 'Dear Zeus, how a child of Athena managed to put up with you is beyond me.'

'Well then...' Percy thought. Annabeth was right, she was temperamental.

'Who is it then?' Percy asked. Aphrodite just looked at him, studying him.

'Has there really been no one else on your thoughts? No one else that may have caught your eye? They don't necessarily have to be... feminine.' Percy just stared blankly at her. Aphrodite sighed, raising a well manicured hand to massage her temples. 'I absolutely hate being blunt about these sorts of things; I prefer the angst and the drama but I'm dying to see how this plays out so I'm going to hand this over to my son Eros. Don't disappoint me Perseus,' the Goddess said. Then she smiled and gave Percy some parting words, 'Remember, don't forget to follow your heart.'

The dream shifted and Percy was suddenly dreaming he was back at the ocean. The sun was shining down upon the white sand while the cool spray of the ocean showered droplets of water on him. Percy wondered what Aphrodite meant by leaving it to her son Eros to sort it out. Percy turned around to see if he could find out were he was but he stopped dead in his tracks; behind him was Luke Castellan. However, it didn't just stop there. The son of Hermes stood before him, bare chested and sopping wet, as if he had just come out of the water. His usually blonde hair was darker, sopping wet and matted down. Rivulets of water trailed down his torso, glistening in the sunlight. The older demigod just gave Percy a grin as he sat down on the sand, patting the space beside him for the stunned son of Poseidon. Percy's didn't register his movements until he was next to the blonde, about to sit down. His head was in turmoil.

'Why this? Why now? Is this what Aphrodite meant by someone less feminine? Is she trying to turn my life upside down? Annabeth and I have just recently broke up and Aphrodite is trying to get me to bat for the other team. Great.' Percy couldn't deny that Luke had caught his attention that first day at camp, but he'd never thought of something like this. 'Is it actually that bad an idea though?' he thought to himself, and then reality caught up to him. Luke was dead. There's no way in Hades that the King of the Underworld would revive the son of Hermes, not after everything that's happened. Sure, in the end, Luke turned out to be the hero, but Hades isn't going to like what happened to his Kingdom after the war. The amount of deaths would likely have caused severe congestion, and Hades hates commuting. 'Why make me think about this now? What point is there to this, are you just trying to torture me?' Percy internally screamed.

Percy was cut off from his thoughts by the son of Hermes as he places his arm around his shoulders and pulled him in so Percy could rest his head on the older demigod's chest.

'Luke...' Percy said, looking up into the blonde boy's face. There wasn't nothing menacing about it anymore, nothing like how it was when his body was possessed by Kronos. It was the first time Percy had seen Luke's face relaxed. Luke just looked down at Percy, giving him a small smile but not saying anything. He lifted his head to look out at the ocean, the sounds of which were calming Percy down. He decided just to go with it. It was just a dream, after all.

Neither said another word.

Luke woke up the next morning to find himself still wrapped up in Percy's arms. The son of Poseidon was clinging to him like an octopus which, Luke figured, seemed appropriate enough. Luke looked out of the window and saw the sun was just slightly before dawn; the sun slowly rising in the horizon. Once again, he looked at the boy laying next to him and smiled. He couldn't help it, the boy just looked so adorable. His mouth was slightly open and he was drooling just a tiny bit. Luke didn't want tis moment to end but he knew that Percy was going to wake up soon and it would be best for everyone involved if he got out of there as soon as possible. He didn't want to know what would happen if the demigod found his arch nemesis next to him in is bed. Luke tried to suppress a shudder at the thought. Just as he was about to move, he heard Percy softly murmur next to him.

'Luke...'

Luke stiffened, his heart skipping a beat. 'Crap,' he thought, 'I'm gonna have to talk to him now after all.' However, when he looked over at the boy next to him, he saw that Percy's eyes were still closed. His heart skipped another beat, this time in elation as he realised that Percy was dreaming about him. Luke tried his best not to dwell on that fact but the son of Poseidon kept murmuring in his sleep. Luke couldn't make out any more words but he found that he didn't care as Percy's arms had tightened around him and a head full of black hair was snuggling into his neck. 'Yup, I'm definitely going to die again when Percy wakes up,' Luke thought grimly to himself. However, Percy's head felt perfect, fitting into the crook of his neck. The raven haired boy was smiling gently as he continued to use Luke as a teddy bear. A tear rolled down Luke's cheek at the thought that he knew he was never going to be able to have this. Before he knew it, the floodgates ha dopened and tears were falling freely down his face. There was nothing he could do. The memories of everything he had ever done to harm the boy laying beside him assaulted his consciousness, bringing with them an overwhelming sense of guilt. He couldn't believe that he had ever tried to kill the beautiful son of Poseidon.

He buried his face into Percy's hair, inhaling the scent of the ocean, not caring anymore about what was going to happen once Percy woke up. He didn't care that Percy was probably going to reject him, not that Percy didn't have good reason to. He didn't care that it would probably kill him again when it finally happened. Luke just wanted to stay in this moment forever; the boy he fell for, yet could never be with, in his arms. Ever since his first step into Elysium, he had spent most of his time alone. He couldn't stand being in the same place as all the other Half-bloods who had died int the war. He knew no-one would ever forgive him. Luke was just setting himself up for heartache when Percy woke up. He admits it. He fell in love with Percy Jackson, somewhere between welcoming the boy to cabin nine and the moment when Luke stabbed himself with the dagger. He doesn't know exactly when it happened, nor how, but he knew it to be true. Curse Aphrodite, this was a worse punishment than anything in the fields of Punishment. Luke could take physical torture, but emotional, that's another story. The fact that Percy would never love him back, that he would never accept him made Luke's heart ache. He never wanted to come back to the land of the living, but he did anyway. Call him masochistic but he had to try, even if it led to his own heartbreak. At least he would get the chance to apologise for what he's done. Wet tears continued to fall on black hair as Luke held tightly to the son of the Sea God.

Percy woke as the rays from the sun shone onto his eyes. His eyes slowly cracked open and he was amazed at the feeling of complete relaxation that he felt. The last thing he remembered was the beach but he could tell he was no longer there. 'How did I get back to my bed?' He tried to replay the memories from the day before but nothing came to mind. Percy finally took notice of his surroundings and realised that his head was slowly moving up and down. He was lying next to something that was comfortably warm. He didn't want to get up, much too comfortable to try and do anything, but he wanted to see what he was laying on. He slowly rose, stretching his arms and yawning widely. He looked down at his bed to see what was there and froze in shock. His eyes grew wide as he took in the frame of Luke Castellan, his lithe, yet muscular, body curled around his own. Percy's eyes found Luke's face and Luke would have smirked at the adorably clueless look on Percy's face if he didn't know that the son of Poseidon was going to kick his butt any minute now. As it was, Percy saw that Luke's eyes were rimmed red, as if he had been crying, and his expression tugged at Percy's heartstrings. Luke looked like he had completely given up. Percy knew that he should have uncapped Riptide by now but the expression on Luke's face kept him at bay. Percy felt anger rise as he continued to stare at the son of Hermes. That dream was still fresh in his mind and it made him all confused. What was he supposed to feel for the older demigod?

'How in Tartarus are you here?' Percy demanded, the fact that Luke was supposed to be dead only just coming to him. Luke gave a weak chuckle as he raised an eyebrow.

'Ah Percy, still as slow as you ever were. I was expecting that question the instant you opened your eyes. I was also expecting Riptide to be at my throat by now as well. What's wrong?' Percy's anger flared.

'Just answer the gods damned question Luke, before I have to hurt myself to make sure this isn't a bloody nightmare!' Percy doesn't know why he hasn't drawn his sword, and he does't know either why he felt a pang of guilt and a look of hurt flashed across Luke's face.

'Would it really be that bad to see me Perce?' Luke asked.

'Just answer the question!' Luke nodded dejectedly. He was right. E knew the son of Poseidon was never going to accept him. He might as well prepare himself now so that he could leave with some of his dignity still intact.

'It's a long story,' he said.

'We've got time,' Percy growled. He really wanted answers. Everything was so confusing. He knew that if he had woken up, alone, he would have been able to accept what that dream was telling him; that he had fallen for Luke Castellan. But that was only when Luke was dead. Now that the boy was in front of him, everything just go a whole lot more complicated for the seventeen year old.

Luke took a deep breath and dully began his story, bracing himself for the rejection he was sure was going to come.


	4. Chapter 4

Luke's voice washed over cabin three as he retold his story for the son of Poseidon. Percy's anger lessened the more he heard the blonde demigod speak and the depressing tone in which Luke recounted his tale made Percy want to kick himself for being so hard on the older boy. If Percy was any other, normal demigod, he would have already uncapped Riptide and attacked the son of Hermes, but since when has Percy ever been normal? There was just... something that was preventing Percy from doing anything but listen to the son of Hermes' tale. Percy felt a pang of sympathy when Luke mentioned seeing his mother; the one time the black haired demigod has seen May Castellan had left him feeling sorry for what Luke had had to go through as a child. It made Percy feel a little empathy, and it helped him understand the blonde's hatred for the Gods. Luke had been left alone to deal with a disturbed mother for pretty much his whole life before he ran away, and not once did his father stop by to help. Percy felt his heart go out for the son of Hermes but he stayed motionless, continuing to stare at Luke as he carried on with his story.

When Luke go to the part when he saw his father, Percy was surprised to say the least. Never once had he thought that Luke would ever reconcile with Hermes. Luke's hatred just ran so deep that it seemed like it would never completely go away. However, here Luke was, telling Percy of how he and his father had shared a bonding moment. Percy was genuinely happy that Hermes had finally been able to reach is favourite son but that quickly dissipated as Luke mentioned meeting Aphrodite. That led to Percy remembering the dream from last night and once again, his confused feelings assaulted him. What Aphrodite had told Luke was bothering Percy. Contrary to popular belief, Percy wasn't as oblivious as he seemed, though he did have is many moments. The son of Poseidon just hated confrontation unless it had something to do with running his sword through a monster. The pieces were slowly fitting together in Percy's head, from what Aphrodite had said to him the night before to what Luke said about the Love Goddess's appearance. His emotions were running wild now and he just didn't know what to feel.

Luke finally finished his story and silence filled the cabin. Percy had no idea what he was supposed to say while Luke was still waiting to be told to leave. The silence stretched on and the two buys were just sat there, staring at each other. Percy could see the fear in the blonde demigod's eyes and he knew the story was true. Even a son of Hermes couldn't make a story that heartfelt. Percy could practically feel the older boy's pain. 'Okay Percy, you can do this. Just say it, say those three words that you've been dying to say since you woke up. You know Aphrodite was right so just say it.' Percy panicked. Is that really how he felt about the older demigod? Was he actually falling for the son of Hermes, the boy who had tried to kill him on multiple occasions. 'Yes, this is what I want. This isn't something that Aphrodite is making me feel. I am genuinely falling for Luke Castellan.'

After what felt like ages, Percy finally opened his mouth.

'Should I tell Nico that he should prepare himself for a half-sibling?' Percy cringed once those words were out of his mouth. Annabeth was right, he was a coward. Luke's mouth lifted slightly tough.

'Is that really the most important thing right now Perce?' the blonde asked. Percy just sighed.

'What do you want me to do Luke? Tell me, because I literally have no idea. I know what I want to do, and I know what I should do, but what do you want me to do?'

'I at least expected you to hit me,' Luke said, echoing his father's words. 'I don't know if i'll even feel it, what with the curse of Achilles and everything, but it's the thought that counts, right? Do I still have the curse?' and before Percy could stop him, Luke unsheathed his knife with the speed only a son of Hermes would have, and slice himself down the arm. Surprisingly, there was no cut. 'Well I guess that answers that.' Percy disregarded that for the moment, it wasn't important right now.

'What do you mean you expected me to his you?' Luke raised a disbelieving eyebrow at Percy, who sighed.

'Luke...Hermes already told you that I have forgiven you, there's nothing else to it. I don't hold any grudges towards you, I don't have any ill feelings. I know why you did what you did, and although I disagree, I understand. What did you expect when you came here to talk to me, that I would reject you and tell you to go back to the underworld?' Luke wouldn't meet Percy's eye so the black haired demigod found himself scooting closer to the blonde. He placed his arm around the son of Hermes and pulled him closer, placing his blond head on his chest, much like his dream from the night before, but reversed, and he placed his other arm on Luke's hip. Luke was shocked by what Percy was doing but he just moved so that he could hide his face in the son of Poseidon's neck, keeping his expression from view. He wrapped his arms around the younger demigod's waist and Percy was shocked to find the son of Hermes trembling. Percy could feel the vibrations at every point of contact between him and the older demigod. His shock grew when Luke started sobbing, Percy's neck becoming wet with the blonde's tears. The display of emotion was nothing like the Luke he had known for the past five years but the son of Poseidon could empathise. Luke didn't think anyone would forgive him, let alone understand him. It was a comfort to Luke that there were still people who believed in him, and it was an even greater comfort that one of those people was Percy. Percy didn't know what was going through the older demigod's mind but he just kept on holding tightly to the son of Hermes.

After a while, Luke started to calm down however, his grip on Percy didn't lessen. He revelled in the younger demigod's warmth.

'What are you going to do now?' Percy asked quietly, not wanting to set off the blonde again in this volatile state.

'What can I do?' Luke asked, 'No one here will accept me, at least, not as quickly as you have, not after everything I've done. There's nothing in the outside world for me, I have nothing, I would have been better staying de-' Luke cut off as he was pushed down onto the bed by the son of Poseidon. Luke looked up with wide eyes at Percy, who had an angry expression on his face.

'Don't even think of finishing that sentence Castellan,' the younger demigod growled, 'Don't ever say that you're better off dead. No one deserves to be dead, especially not you.' Luke just stared speechless at the demigod above him.

'W-why?' Percy's anger left him and he collapsed on top of the son of Hermes. He laid his head on the blonde's chest and just shrugged.

'I don't know why, Luke, but you mean something to me.' Luke didn't say anything, but his heart was beating a mile a minute. 'You could always... stay here with me?' Percy said timidly.

'Thank you, Percy, but I can't do that to you. I can't have you ostracised because of me.'

'I don't care about any of that Luke! I don't care what the rest of camp thinks, they don't matter to me.' Percy said, desperately trying to get Luke to accept. He had made is mind up now and he just needed the son of Hermes to comply. He needed him here at camp.

'And what about the people who do matter to you?' Luke whispered, not wanting to get his hopes up.

'Thalia's off with the hunters so she's rarely ever at camp but I'm not worried about her. She was one of the ones who wanted to believe in you Luke. She didn't judge you then, and she wouldn't do it now. Rachel stays here at camp but she's mortal. She's a lot more understanding than you think and won't judge you either. Nico might hold some grudges towards you but that's a son of Hades thing. Annabeth forgave you along with me back in the Gods' throne room. Those are the only people whose opinions matter to me and I'm positive everything will be fine.

'Are you sure this is what you want Perce?' Luke asked. 'There's nothing else more that I want,' Percy thought.

'Yes, Luke I'm sure. If you want, you can stay in my cabin during the day and we'll go out and do stuff at night. I'll bring food from meals so you won't have to worry about anyone else. I'm sure Mr D already knows you're here and Chiron won't have a problem. Besides, I need someone half decent to spar with with,' Percy said, trying to get the older demigod to smile. Luke took the bait.

'Half decent? I take offence to that,' The blonde said, the corners of his mouth lifting a bit. Percy smiled as he saw the blonde finally starting to pull himself together. Before the black haired demigod knew it, Luke rolled over so that he was on top of the son of Poseidon, his face millimetres from Percy's.

'What would it mean for us?' Luke asked, staring into the green eyes of the boy beneath him. Percy visibly gulped as he felt the older demigod's weight on top of him.

'What do you mean?' Percy asked breathlessly, trying to fight the blush crawling up his face. Luke just kept eye contact with the black haired demigod. He knew that Percy knew exactly what he meant. Aphrodite doesn't get involved for just anything. They stayed in silence, neither one backing down, waiting for the other to make a move. Finally, Percy leaned up and placed his lips softly on Luke's. Luke relished the contact, his tongue slipping out to ask for entrance to Percy's mouth. Percy accepted, deepening the kiss for a moment before reluctantly breaking it to breathe.

'That's what I mean Percy. I think that's why Lady Aphrodite wanted to bring me back. Because somewhere along the way, I fell in love with you, Percy Jackson. I can't stay here at camp if it mean we're only going to be friends. I don't think I could take that. Percy...I need you. I need you to want me, just as much as I want you. Percy's eyes widened at each word coming out of the older demigod's mouth. Would he be able to give Luke what he wants?

'Luke, I've only just recently broken up with Annabeth,' Percy said. Luke closed his eyes.

'This is it,' he thought, 'He's going to tell me that he doesn't feel the same way about me. I think I would have preferred if he had hit me. At least would be less painful than this.' Percy looked up at the older demigod and saw a lone tear go down his cheek. Percy felt his heart twinge at the sight. Percy made up his mind. He wants this as well. It will take time before he completely gives himself to Luke, but he's certain that he can get there.

'I don't know exactly what it would mean for us, Luke, but I want to see where this will take us. Please, stay here at camp. With me.'

'Okay,' Luke accepted, before claiming the son of Poseidon's lips once again.

One thought was running through both their minds. Maybe things will be better.


End file.
